must wait to emerge. I strip off furs,
slip into the fist of the sea, rise

from this Salmacis fountain
hide sharp, crystalline, heart

beats ticking in tandem, one
in each wrist.

KIRA TAYLOR has a background in both writing and science. Her most recent publications include Prairie Schooner, Southern Humanities Review, and Catamaran Literary Reader. She currently lives, writes, and work in beautiful Jackson, WY.